Proposed pipeline would cut through Stark County

Planned to cross northern and eastern Stark County, the NEXUS Gas Transmission Project would carry 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas a day from eastern Ohio’s Utica Shale region to Michigan and Ontario, Canada, through 250 miles of 36-inch pipe placed along existing utility corridors.

The high-voltage transmission lines hanging over Eaver Street NW never bothered Paul Schwendner, who built his house across from them 50 years ago.

In fact, the wires seemed to improve the reception of his TV antenna, he said.

The same power lines, today, form a rough picture of the path a proposed interstate pipeline could take across northern and eastern Stark County.

If built, the NEXUS Gas Transmission Project would carry 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas a day from eastern Ohio’s Utica Shale region to Michigan and Ontario, Canada, through 250 miles of 36-inch pipe placed along existing utility corridors.

“They’re going to have a heck of a time coming through here,” Schwendner predicted, surveying his neighborhood in the township’s Greentown area.

Not only does the possible route pass near homes, there are storage tanks and pipelines for oil wells and a drainage ditch nearby.

Schwendner said he’d prefer a pipeline not come so close to his property.

“Just have to wait and see,” he said.

THE PLAN

The NEXUS pipeline still needs approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, but is expected to be in service by November 2016, according to the website of Spectra Energy, the project’s lead designer and builder.

Spectra’s partners in the venture are DTE Energy in Detroit and Enbridge, a Canadian company.

Phil West, a spokesman for Houston-based Spectra, said the NEXUS team is talking to potential customers, including producers and consumers along the route, such as power plants, industrial users and local distribution companies. Every day, the pipeline could carry enough natural gas to meet the annual energy needs of 10,000 American homes.

So far, the pipeline builders have not approached landowners about easements, and any route at this stage is “very preliminary and subject to change” as customer needs, gathering locations and environmental and cultural factors are evaluated, West cautioned.

A Spectra map obtained from the Stark County commissioners’ office traces a proposed route that intersects Interstate 77, U.S. Route 62, Nimisila Reservoir and several state highways.

The map shows the pipeline starting in southern Columbiana County near the natural gas processing plant in Kensington, but West said the origination point is still being evaluated.

From there, the pipeline would travel northwest, entering Stark County north of state Route 153 and cutting diagonally across Washington Township toward the Maximo area.

Washington Township Trustee Mort DeHoff is one of several local officials who have been briefed on the project by Spectra officials.

It was his impression the pipeline would follow existing high-voltage transmission lines in many cases, but the “map is just a rough idea,” he said.

Leaving Washington Township, the pipeline would clip the northeast corner of Nimishillen Township before heading west through southern Marlboro and Lake townships, then enter the city of Green, according to the map.

Spectra’s representatives have been trying to schedule meetings with city officials, and Wiethe said he hopes to learn more about the route, and what say the city might have over the project.

“I don’t know if we have a right of review,” Wiethe said.

REGULATIONS

So far, the NEXUS project hasn’t filed a formal proposal with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, said Tamara Young-Allen, a commission spokeswoman.

The permitting process includes an environmental study, a public comment period and an appeal provision. A pipeline that exports a product outside the United States also needs approval from the State, Defense and Energy departments, Young-Allen said.

Pipeline companies negotiate easements with landowners, but if the Regulatory Commission approves a project, the builders can use eminent domain, with a court determining how property owners are compensated.

Still, having a permit and easements doesn’t guarantee construction.

In the late 1990s, the proposed Independence Pipeline faced opposition from landowners and then-Congressman Ralph Regula, who didn’t want to see the 400-mile natural gas pipeline traverse northern Stark County on its way to Pennsylvania.

The Regulatory Commission approved the plan, but the pipeline builders weren’t able to find enough customers, a condition of federal approval, and dropped the project in 2002.

“I do wonder if, with the shale boom, the sentiment has changed a bit,” said Marlboro Township Trustee John Hagan, who has spoken with Spectra officials about the project.

RISKS

But there are reasons landowners might not want an interstate pipeline near their properties and homes.

The Tennessee Gas Pipeline exploded near Hanoverton in 2011, sending flames into the air that could be seen and heard as far as 20 miles away. In December, a 20-inch Columbia Gas Transmission pipeline exploded in Sissonville, W.Va., destroying several homes and engulfing Interstate 77 in flames.

Local environmental activist Chris Borello said she is concerned what the pipeline and related compressor stations (placed at intervals of 40 to 100 miles) would mean in terms of property values, land use restrictions, landowner liability and the safety and health of the community.

The safety records of the companies behind the project are also important to consider, she said.

In 2010, an Enbridge pipeline spilled more than 1.1 million gallons of heavy crude oil into a creek flowing into Kalamazoo River in Marshall, Mich., according to the U.S. EPA. The incident permanently displaced 150 families and the ongoing cleanup could cost more than $800 million, according to press accounts.

“These are the kinds of things people need to examine,” said Borello, who called on county commissioners to hold a public meeting on the pipeline.

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EARLY STAGES

Stark County Commissioner Richard Regula said there are no plans for a public meeting at this point.

“This thing is in its infancy,” he said. “... It’s not going to happen overnight.”

Regula said he has faith in regulators to keep the project safe. He also noted the area’s existing natural gas infrastructure, such as Dominion East Ohio’s large natural gas storage field beneath parts of Jackson, Lake, Lawrence and Plain townships, and Green and New Franklin.

Based on conversations with Spectra representatives, Regula said, “They just want to keep people informed, work with the local communities, do the right thing and do it safely.